Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

By Tony Warren

In Eric’s recent article, “Olympus Camedia C2020ZVintage Digital/Antique Shop ‘Jankuary’ Find – 2MP from 1999″, about a camera that he had found in an antique shop there was a photo which showed the sales ticket with the note “sensitive to IR”. This immediately rang bells with me and my 25 year old Olympus C2000Z came out of the cupboard.

C2000Z-with-tubeIR-filter-and-lens-hood-attached
C2000Z-with-tubeIR-filter-and-lens-hood-attached
lens-adapter-tube-with-stepping-rings
lens-adapter-tube-with-stepping-rings

I have long been fascinated by infra red photography, using Rollei Infrared 400 film, digital and software manipulation. It was fortunate that when I bought my C2000Z new in 1999 I also bought the accessory lens adapter tube/stepping ring which allows for attaching lens accessories such as supplementaries, close up lenses or a lens hood. My IR filters will therefore fit to it with stepping rings.

It seemed reasonable to suppose that the sensor on my camera would be the same as the C2020Z and so it proved.

Typical C2000Z infrared result
Typical C2000Z infrared result

The main problem, however, was the same as Eric’s, namely how to get the files off the now defunct Smartmedia memory card and into the computer. My Microtech USB Cameramate reader would no longer work and the camera’s dedicated USB cable was lost some time ago so the solution was to buy a new, multi-type reader.

Rear screens
Rear screens

I had to wait a tantalising three weeks for this to arrive with the test images only visible on the camera’s rear screen, all 1.8” of it, but they were very encouraging, with pleasant colours. The same shots on my Sony A3000 required a longer exposure and are overall red because of the much stronger built-in IR filtration and really need to be converted to mono. The infrared effect is not as strong either even when in mono though I have produced some good results with it. The ones from the Olympus have pleasant, pastel colouring and some can stand as they are as well as in mono.

Composite of results from Sony A3000 and C2000Z
Composite of results from Sony A3000 and C2000Z

The Olympus C2000Z

Olympus C2000Z front and rear views
Olympus C2000Z front and rear views

The camera is a very capable device and when new was praised for its comprehensive controls, flexibility and compactness. At 300dpi though it would only print to 5”x4”, a drop in resolution was needed for anything larger. I seem to remember some software interpolation for larger prints was offered in the included software, also lost. Still, it taught me a great deal about the digital world and the size limits led me to learn even more about manually stitching images in software. Results in terms of sharpness and colour were very good, some of the best at the time, but the need to refine the design overtook it in mere months. In its very short day in the sun, though, it was up there with the best. Digital Photography Review’s web site has a comprehensive review of the model.

Cranwell Church with post processing
Cranwell Church with post processing
5-shot stitched image
5-shot stitched image
Cruise ship at anchor.
Cruise ship at anchor.
Cranwell churchyard in winter
Cranwell churchyard in winter

It has a 2.1Mp sensor and Program, Aperture and Shutter Priority modes with a panorama setting that needs the included Olympus card to work, something I never tried, and playback. Buttons are largely confined to menu and playback navigation on the small screen. Zooming is controlled with a stubby lever on the front edge of the top plate with the shutter release in its centre in front of the mode dial which has the on/off button in its centre. The finder zooms with the lens and has warning LEDs and a dioptre adjustment. These early cameras were really power hungry, especially using the rear screen. No doubt this was the reason Olympus provided the optical finder and small info screen on the top plate so the rear screen was needed less.

The menus are not up to today’s standards but the most annoying feature is the on/off button, located just where your finger naturally seems to rest. I lost so many shots through turning the camera off instead of pressing the shutter release and I still do it. Reviews also criticised this annoying feature and it was moved to a click stop position on the mode dial along with a few other tweaks just a few of months later when Eric’s C2020Z appeared to replace it.

Another niggle some reviewers complained about was the battery door which is without a doubt pretty hard to close. I find that pressing firmly where Olympus suggest, on a dimpled circle, is effective and not a problem.

Into the infrared

The reader having arrived and checks on the test images showing promise I set out to capture some more. This is easier than with the grainy, indistinct Sony screen or evf and, because an optical finder is not affected by the filter, is more like using IR film in my Retina IIc but with no need to adjust focus to an IR mark and with auto exposure. Back in the day I tended to use TIFF SHQ for maximum quality but I find that SHQ jpegs are hardly any different providing 32 frames instead of only five per 32Mb memory card. TIFF is always available if needed.

Olympus C2000Z with 720 IR filter, Queens Garden Dunedin New Zealand
Olympus C2000Z with 720 IR filter, Queens Garden Dunedin New Zealand
Olympus C2000Z with 720 IR filter, Queens Garden Dunedin New Zealand
Olympus C2000Z with 720 IR filter, Queens Garden Dunedin New Zealand
Olympus C2000Z with IR filter, Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedinin
Olympus C2000Z with IR filter, Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedinin
Olympus C2000Z with R filter, ironwork details Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin
Olympus C2000Z with R filter, ironwork details Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin
C2000Z with supplementary lenses
C2000Z with supplementary lenses

I still have a wide angle and a fisheye supplementary bought a while ago so I took a few frames with them. They both have 52mm male threads so I mounted them on top of the R720 filter preserving the IR capture ability. They take the edge off the definition but not to a disastrous degree. The wide angle shows just noticeable barrel distortion which requires only a small amount of correction.

Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin with wide-angle attachment
Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin with wide-angle attachment
Ironwork details Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin
Ironwork details Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin
Cacti wing with fisheye Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin
Cacti wing with fisheye Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin
Lily pond bridge with fisheye Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin
Lily pond bridge with fisheye Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin

Lessons learned

Going back more than 20 years was an eye opening experience I must say.

By far the biggest surprise came from how slow it all was back then. Writing a SHQ jpeg to the card seems to take an eternity though only 4 or 5 seconds. A TIFF on the other hand takes over 40 seconds which seems like forever. We are so spoiled nowadays aren’t we?

The next thing to strike home is the inaccuracy of the optical finder, its axis is several degrees off centre and includes far less of the image than is recorded. As a result I had to frame very tightly to make the most of the meagre 2.1 megapixels on offer and also aim slightly to the left. I noticed the fisheye images were not centred on the sensor as you would expect which may have something to do with the sensor and finder not being in sync.

And then there were the hot pixels I had completely forgotten about. It quickly came back to me, having to spot out these multi-coloured dots that would appear randomly anywhere in frame. Not many but usually noticeable.

Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin with wide-angle supplementary
Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin with wide-angle supplementary

But…

I was more than happy with the images, especially the “straight” ones without the supplementaries. I know that they are somewhat crippled by having such a small pixel count. But for on-screen use and small print sizes they are very acceptable. It almost makes me start looking for a Sigma SLR or an adapted modern digital. Will it ever end. I certainly hope not.

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About The Author

By Tony Warren
In my 60 or so years of serious involvement in photography I have seen the demise of the viewfinder, the rise of the SLR and the eclipse of them all with the meteoric development of the digital camera. Through it all, however, and above all else, the image is what it is all about so I now use film alongside digital. Whatever is the most appropriate or practical. My contributions will hopefully be useful for anyone interested in using film and also how a died-in-the-wool antique like me is continuing his life-long addiction in the digital age, using both platforms. The major benefit of an extended retirement is that I can spend most of my time nowadays with photography and writing about it.
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Comments

Uli Buechsenschuetz on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

Great read. When my daughter was born in 1999, I borrowed this camera from a friend to take some pictures of her. Nice memories.
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

Thank you Uli and such good memories to have.

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Geoff Chaplin on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

I'll dump my M3 and cron and get one of those! Brilliant images!
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

Thank you Geoff. Interested in a swop?

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Geoff Chaplin replied:

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

;-)

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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

My suggestion was tongue in cheek, I admit Geoff.

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Herb Kateley on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

I have the ultra zoom version of this camera, bought new. Back in the day I used it for website work and in that use sold a lot of images from it. I also found that the quality of 8x10s prints was just fine. I did a lot of IR work with it using a Hoya R72. Some of these images I still have forsale online today.
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

So there is life in the old dog yet. Herb. Interesting to hear. I print on A4 at 144dpi quite successfully.

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Gary Smith on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

Tony,
I love the shot called: "Cranwell churchyard in winter" as well as "Tropical House Botanic Gardens Dunedin with wide-angle supplementary". Some years ago I had my gx85 converted to 590nm IR but I never seem to take it out with me enough.
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

Thanks Gary. You should maybe give it a bit more exercise.

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Ibraar Hussain on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

Tony, what a brilliant, interesting and inspirational read!
Fantastic photographs from this little fellow!!
Thank you!
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 12/04/2024

Thank you Ibraar.

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Wes Hall on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 13/04/2024

Ahhh the Sigma lure...one day Tony I will write a review of the IR fun of an SD15. I can't recommend it enough.
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 13/04/2024

I am very jealous Wes and look forward to reading it.

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Roger on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 14/04/2024

Very interesting and makes me wonder what I could do in IR with a slightly more recent Olympus model which clearly bears a family resemblance to this.

My main question relates to exposure times. I understood that the reason why digital cameras had to be converted for IR was that they contained a filter that blocked out IR and UV light, meaning that if you filtered out all visible light, the result would be very long exposures. Were the exposure times similar to those using visible light or were they much longer, requiring a tripod?
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 14/04/2024

Hi Roger. The comparison of the two camera screens shows how the IR filtering in cameras was increased quite a lot. The later camera needed a longer exposure and the IR effect is not as strong. I gather that it was found that IR light wavelengths took the edge off sharpness hence the stronger filtration so you are right about modern conversions. The later Olympus “C” range 3xxx etc had stronger filtration. The TV remote test might give you an idea. See how bright the beam looks through the camera on the screen. Or just hold a filter over the lens if you have one. As to exposure, the lens depth of field permits quite large apertures and the best conditions for IR is in full sun so I find I can hand hold most of the time. Worth a try.

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Toki on Olympus C2000Z – A new life for an early digital compact

Comment posted: 10/05/2024

I have recently purchased this camera and it has just been sitting around due to the fact that I can’t use it to its full potential, I was wondering if you can source me where I can buy the “lens-adapter-tube-with-stepping-rings” and the “fish eye lens” attachment. One more thing is I have photo just sitting in my chip how can I transfer them to my computer or mobile device?
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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 10/05/2024

Hi there, I'm afraid I can't help you with the tube and the fisheye. All I can suggest is to keep a lookout on ebay etc. The tube was the same as for one or two other Olympus models so one might turn up. A skilled lathe worker could possibly turn something up for you if you know someone who can do that. The fisheye is an accessory originally for video I think so a search in that area might turn something up. As for transferring files, if you don't have the original USB cable then, like me, it will have to be ebay. There are several quite reasonable readers on there. Sorry I can't be more help. Regards, Tony.

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